The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) held a public meeting in Adelaide, the state capital of South Australia, on Sunday to discuss the US war on Iran and the outcome of the South Australian state election. It drew a number of workers and youth, both in person and online, and outlined to them a socialist perspective to stop the war and build an international movement against the outmoded capitalist system.
SEP members spoke afterwards to those attending the meeting.
Steve, 63, a web developer from Salisbury in Adelaide’s working-class north, was drawn to the meeting after reading a leaflet given to him by the SEP “outlining the horrors of the Iran war and also how not only is it affecting the people of Iran, but affecting the workers around the world, because their rights are being taken away, healthcare and all that, to pay for the war.” Steve said the reports helped him to understand how the war is connected to the economic issues confronting workers here.
He spoke on the Gaza genocide, the state Labor government’s support for it, and how mass opposition was being suppressed. He opposed the censorship of writer and academic Randa Abdel-Fattah from the Adelaide Writers’ Festival earlier this year, saying it was a “ban” and that “there was a big pushback” from ordinary people.
Sam, a musician, asked during the Q&A discussion what was the role of artists in fighting for social revolution. After the meeting, he said, “I’ve always had the urge to become more actively a musician that speaks to the workers’ rights and the people about what goes on in the world. The meeting really reinforced my leftward leaning views and outlook on the world. And it gives me an opportunity to actually connect with and be proactive and active in what needs to be done to help the community and the world at large.”
Henry, a politics student at Adelaide University, drove one hour from a nearby town to join the meeting. He explained: “I was drawn to the SEP’s internationalist perspective to unite the working class. Capitalism is breaking down, that’s why the working class needs to go on strike and organise workers at workplaces and industries independently. It has a lot of independent power that it can tap into, instead of playing the games within liberal democracy. We can take political power.
“I’ve been interested in socialism for many years but have been isolated. I’m coming out of my shell now and I see the virtues in the SEP. Some members of the party reached out to me, and I had some very good conversations. So I want to become involved and support the movement as much as possible.
“I really enjoyed the meeting. It’s great to see people who want to change the world for the better, but who actually have a perspective to do that. I’ve bought a lot of material from the literature table, including Trotsky’s works, which I need to take time off uni to read!”
Henry said the war on Iran is “devastating beyond words. For such a prestigious position as the president of the United States, Trump doesn’t have an ounce of diplomacy. He’s a bully and a warmonger. It can only be understood by an anti-imperialist analysis. This is a resource grab, and Trump wants a favourable regime to help the US dominate the oil and other things. You can’t understand it as an isolated conflict, or as just about Trump. The American ruling class is behind him.
“I was disappointed to see Albanese line up with the US over Gaza and now Iran, but I’m sure the more seasoned comrades wouldn’t expect anything less from a capitalist party, the Labor Party. Labor is not for the liberation of the working class. I want to be part of an organisation that has a strong international analysis. I’m all for loving where you live, and mixing your labour within a certain geographical place, but we need internationalism. That’s where the power of the working class is.”
Henry was worried about the growing prominence of the anti-immigrant One Nation: “They’re even to the right of the Liberals and Nationals. A lot of country people and even workers were sucked into this ‘populist pitch,’ as you put it in your report. It’s important the SEP has been going to the working-class suburbs and telling workers they can build their own political platform independent of parliament and all the other parties.”
On the pseudo-left, Henry said “the working class, and the idea of building their own revolutionary organisations, is never on the agenda of these groups. Endless protesting doesn’t work. I’d strongly encourage other young people who are looking for a socialist alternative to look at the SEP’s program. This is what we need.”